SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES

December 23, 2024

March 14-18, 2011
Workshop on Semiotics, Cognitive Science and Mathematics

at the Fields Institute (map), 222 College Street

Organizing Committee
Chair: Marcel Danesi (Semiotics and Linguistic Anthropology), University of Toronto
Co-Chair: Mariana Bockarova (Semiotics and Linguistic Anthropology), Harvard University
Campus Organizers: Spencer De Corneille & Alison Kathleen Inez Mann
Registration
On site March 14
Fees $100, Students and PDF $50,
Waived for Invited Speakers
Speaker Abstracts Schedule Audio & Slides of the Talks
Participant List Housing and Hotels
The Fields Institute and the Department of Anthropology of the University of Toronto, in collaboration with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, are pleased to present the interdisciplinary workshop Semiotics, Cognitive Science and Mathematics.

OVERVIEW

Following are among the main themes and areas of knowledge to be explored through lectures, discussions, group activities during the workshop

(1) The sign-based foundations of mathematical representation
(2) Modeling the structure of problems in mathematics through computer algorithms and various programming strategies based on semiotic theory
(3) The relation between language and mathematics
(4) The relation between mathematical representations and discovery of further mathematical knowledge
(5) The sign based nature of mathematical learning, and especially the role of metaphor and figurative cognition generally in the acquisition of mathematical notions (based on the work of Lakoff and Nuñez)


INVITED SPEAKERS

Per Aage-Brandt, Case Western (Semiotics and Cognitive Science)
James C. Alexander, Case Western Reserve
Myrdene Anderson, Purdue (Anthropology and Semiotics)
John Deely, St. Thomas University, Houston (Semiotics and Philosophy)
Keith Devlin, Stanford (Mathematics)
Kalevi Kull, University of Tartu, Estonia (Biology and Semiotics)
Solomon Marcus, Mathematical Section of the Romanian Academy (Mathematics)
Yair Neuman (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev)
Frank Nuessel, University of Louisville (Semiotics and Linguistics)
Rafael Nunez, University of California, San Diego (Cognitive Science)
Wolf-Michael Roth, University of Victoria (Semiotics and Mathematics)
Kumiko Tanaka-Ishii, University of Tokyo, Japan (Computer Science)
Mark Turner, Case Western (Cognitive Science)

Student Volunteers

The organizers would like to thank the following student volunteers for their involvement in making the workshop a success:

Bryers, Lorraine
Compagnone, Vanessa
Costa, Stacy
De Corneille, Spencer
Granata, Robert
Kamtchatnova, Lisa
Khan, Mohammad
Maida-Nicol, Sara
Mann, Alison Kathleen Inez
Modele, Kuforiji
Nodalo, Joey
Palangi, Angela
Scott, Laura


Schedule of Talks

Monday, March 14, 2011

8:30 a.m - 9:00 a.m. On-Site Registration and Morning Coffee
9:00 a.m.- 9:30 a.m. Welcome and Introduction: Edward Bierstone (Fields Institute), Marcel Danesi (University of Toronto)
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Wolf-Michael Roth (University of Victoria, Semiotics and Mathematics)
Tracking the Origin of Signs in Mathematical Activity: A Material Phenomenological Approach

10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Rafael Nunez (University of California, San Diego, Cognitive Science)
What is the nature of mathematics? A view from the Cognitive Science of the number line
11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. Lunch Break
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Myrdene Anderson (Purdue University, Anthropology and Semiotics)
Qualification of Quantification across the Curriculum
2:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Coffee Break
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Workshop on the Day's Theme
6:00 p.m AFFILIATED ACTIVITY
Keyfitz Lectures in Mathematics and the Social Sciences
George Lakoff (Linguistics Dept, University of California Berkeley)
The Cognitive and Neural Basis of Mathematics Health Sciences Building,
155 College Street (map)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
9:00 a.m - 9:30 a.m. Morning Coffee
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Mark Turner (Case Western Reserve, Cognitive Science)
Mental Packing and Unpacking in Mathematics

10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

Kalevi Kull (University of Tartu, Estonia, Biology and Semiotics)
What mathematical structure is semiosis (if any at all)?

11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. Lunch Break
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. James C. Alexander (Case Western Reserve)
Cognitive structures and semiotics of mathematics
2:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Coffee Break
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Workshop on the Day's Themes
   
7:00 p.m Reception at Victoria College
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
9:00 a.m - 9:30 a.m. Morning Coffee
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Solomon Marcus (Mathematical Section of the Romanian Academy, Mathematics)
Mathematics, Between Semiosis and Cognition

10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Keith Devlin (Stanford, Mathematics)
Using a video game as a medium to represent mathematics for children learning basic mathematics
11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. Lunch Break
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Frank Nuessel (University of Louisville, Semiotics and Linguistics)
The Representation of Mathematics in the Media
2:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Coffee Break
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Workshop on the Day's Themes
   
4:30 p.m. Reception at the Fields Institute (Atrium)
Thursday, March 17, 2011
9:00 a.m - 9:30 a.m. Morning Coffee
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Kumiko Tanaka-Ishii (University of Tokyo, Japan, Computer Science)
Dyadic vs. Triadic Sign Models Through Computer Programs

10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Yair Neuman (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev)
Semiotics, Mathematics & Information Technology: The Future is already here ...
11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. Lunch Break
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Joachim De Beule (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
Agent-Based and Mathematical modeling in Semiotic Dynamics
2:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Coffee Break
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Workshop on the Day's Themes
   
Evening L'Espresso Restaurant, cash bar (Music by the Semiotones),
321 Bloor Street West, (southeast corner of Bloor & St. George)

Friday, March 18, 2011
9:00 a.m - 9:30 a.m. Morning Coffee
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Vitaly Kiryushchenko (St. Petersburg State School of Economics)
Maps and Signs: The Visual and the Virtual in Peirce's Semiotics

10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Fernando Soto
Lewis Carroll's Name-Number Nexus: Snarky Wonderland Games.
11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. Lunch Break
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

John Deely (St. Thomas University)
The Semiosis of Mathematical Thinking

2:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Coffee Break
2:30 p.m. Workshop on the Day's Themes
   
7:00 p.m. Dinner at the Italian Cultural Institute

Final List of Participants :

Full Name University Name
Alexander, James National Science Foundation
Anderson, Myrdene Purdue University
Bateson, Keith McMaster University
Bockarova, Mariana Harvard University
Brandt, Per Aage Case Western Reserve University
Braudakis, Georgina  
Chang, Rachel  
Coppin, Peter University of Toronto
Danesi, Marcel University of Toronto
Davis, Chandler University of Toronto
De Beule, Joachim Vrije Universiteit Brussel
de Corneille, Spencer University of Toronto
Deely, John University of St. Thomas-Houston
Devlin, Keith Stanford University
Giannini, Stefania Università per Stranieri di Perugia
Inez Mann, Alison Kathleen University of Toronto
Kotsopoulos, Donna Wilfrid Laurier University
Kull, Kalevi University of Tartu
Lakoff, George University of California, Berkeley
Logan, Robert University of Toronto
Marcus, Solomon "Simion Stoilow" Institute of Mathematics of the Romanian Academy
Martinovic, Dragana University of Windsor
Morfin Ramírez, Mario Leonardo York University
Neumann, Yair Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Nuessel, Frank University of Louisville
Nuñez, Rafael University of California, San Diego
Roth, Wolff-Michael University of Victoria
Shorser, Lindsey University of Toronto
Soto, Fernando  
Tanaka-Ishii, Kumiko University of Tokyo
Turner, Mark Case Western Reserve University
Whiteley, Walter York University